Corner-fastening.



R. R. ROCKWELL.

CORNER FASTENING.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 9, 1909.

Patented June 28, 1910.

ROBERT BOMAINE ROCKWELL, OF EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR 0F ONE-HALE TO CHARLES L. ANDERSON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

CORNERrFASTENING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 28, 1910.

To an whom it may concern;

Be it known that 1, ROBERT ROMAINE ROCKWELL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Evanston, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Corner-Fastening, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to devices for reinforcing the joints of wooden frames and has special reference to connections between the parts of window and door screen frames.

The object of the invention is to provide a simple device which may be readily applied to frames of any thickness and which when a ied will reinforce the joint so as to eflec ually hold the parts together and prevent separation of the same.

This object is attained by the construction illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and the invention consists in certain novel features of the same, as will he hereinafter first fully described and then particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings, Flgure l is a plan view of a blank embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of t position. Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing a slightly different application of the device. Fig. 4: is a vertical transverse section of the structure shown in Fig. 3. F i 5 is a plan view of a diiferent form of ilank. Fig. 6 is a side elevation showing the appli cation of the blank illustrated in Fig. 4, and Fig. 7 is a transverse vertical section of the device shown in Fig. 6.

Devices of this character as usually constructed of pliable sheet metal, have had to be of a gage sufficiently light to enable the user to bend the arms in true right angleswhore needed; or if of heavy gage they were supplied already bent by machine, because the stiffness of the metal made it impossible to form accurate bends by hand. The result has been that in one case the fastener when in place had little strength but fitted nicely, and in the other case it had more strength but could not be manually applied 80 as to make close fit at the angles.

By the present invention I produce a fastener constructed of sheet metal of such weight and gage that it possesses the requisite strength, and I give certain of its arms a machine bend in the process of manuface same in its applied ture; and in order to render other arms sufficiently pliable to enable them to be bent by the user, I weaken them by a series of slots extending across thepoint where the final bend will have to be made and thus adapting the device to difierent thicknesses of articles to be connected by it.

In carrying out my present invention, I employ a blank which is stamped from heavy gage metal and consists of a flat late having a central body rtion 1 wit securin arms 2, 3, 4 and 5 projecting from the e ges of the said body portion so that the blank forms a cross having four attaching arms disposed at a right angle. The attaching arms 2 and 3 are solid or unbroken, as clearly shown in Fig. 1, and the arms 4; and 5 are longer than the arms 2 and 3 and are provided with a series of longitudinal slots or openings 6 which extend from the edges of the central portion 1 toward the outer edges of the said arms and terminate short of the said outer edges. Near the outer edges of each of the arms I provide perforations 7 through which nails or similar fastening devices may be inserted to secure the device in its operative position.

The blank is shaped in a suitable stamp ing machine which will punch out the slots 6. and at the same time turn the imperforate arms 2 and 3 into positions at right angles to the edges of the body portion 1 of the blank and extending in opposite directions from the said body portion. in applying the device to a frame, the blank thus shaped is placed upon the edge of a rail, which is indicated at 8 in dotted lines in Fig.2, with the down-turned arm 2 fitting against the side of the rail. Suitable fastening devices, such as nails or screws, are then inserted through the perforations 7 in the downturned arm 2 so as to enter the rail and secure the said am thereto. The arm 5 is then turned down by hand against the opposite side of the rail and secured thereto in a similar manner. The end of the stile is then placed in position upon the central body portion 1 of the blank with one edge fitting against the upturned arm 3 which arm 18 then secured to the said stile. The opposite arm 4: is then turned up by hand against the stile and secured thereto, as will be readily understood. It will thus be seen that it is not necessary to provide a fastening bracket for each particular frame, but that the bracket ma be applied to any frame and will firm .y and accurately be fitted to the same. The slots 6 in the securin arms 4 and 5 impart to the said arms sufiicient liability to permit the same to be bent by iihe use of a hand tool into neat angles and turned down snugly against the side of the frame on any cross line occurring within the length of the slots so as to fit closely over the corner or edge thereof; and the greater length of the p iable arms increases the range of its usefulness. By roviding the said slots I am enabled to orm a blank from heavy metal and at the same time readily bend the same by hand -as needed to give a neat finish to the article to which the fastening is applied.

It will be understood that the device may be applied to a'frame of any width and bletween the limits defined by the ends of the s ots.

In'Fig. 3 I have shown the device applied to a frame corner having a dove-tailed groove 9 in one of the members. Here the arm 2 is so sha ed by machine as to fit snugly in the sai dove-tailed groove so that the use of nails or similar fastening devices will be dispensed with, the shape of the groove and the interlocking formation of the securing arms serving to effectually connect the arts.

Shoul it be desired to join the parts of an exceptionally wide frame, the blank will be given the construction shown in Fig. 5 in which the body portion 10 is in the form of a strip having attaching arms 11 and 12 pro ecting from its opposite edges, all of the arms 12 on one side of the blank being provided with the slots 13 and left flat and all of the arms 11 on the op osite side being imperforate and machine nt alternately up and down. In joining the parts of a frame by the use of this form of the device, the blank is placed u on the edge of the rail with the downturne imperforate arms 11 engaging its corner, and the alternate pliable arms 12 at the opposite edge of the blank are thenbent b hand and secured to the opposite side 0; the said rail, as will be readily understood on reference to Fig. 6, in which the rail is indicated by the reference numeral 14; then the stile 15 is placed u on the edge of the rail over the body strip of the blank and against the upturned imperforate arms 11; and finally the remainmg pliable arms 12 are turned u by hand against the opposite face of the st1le and secured thereto, as will be readily understood. It is believed that the use and advantages of the device will be readily understood from the foregoing description, taken in consistmg of a stiff nection with. the accompanying drawings. The blank as furnished to the users will have-the pliable perforated arms flat and in the same plane with the central body portion of the device, while the imperforate attaching arms will be machine bent so as to extend alternately in opposite directions from the edges of the bod minutes time will suflice or the application of the device to the rail and the securing of the imperforate arms to the side of the rail. The use of an ordinary hand tool on the slotted arms will serve to bend them close over the angular corners and against the opposite side of the rails and by reason of the resence of the said slots the width of the me will be of no consequence, inasmuch as the bending of the slotted arm wiilll occur along the edge or corner of the ra The simplicity and cheapness of the device are evident and detailed comment on the various advantages of the same is believed to be unnecessa Having thus I claim is: v

1. As an article ofv manufacture, a fastening device for frame joints and the like con-' sisting of a stiff metal plate comprising a flat body rtion, a rigid arm projectmg from one e ge thereof and bent into a plane at right angles to said body, and another arm projecting from the op osite ed' of the bod in the plane thereof and rens red pliable y havin a series of slots in it extending across tlie point where the pliable arm is to be bent;

2. As an article of ing device for frame d escribed my invention, what manufacture, a fastenjoints and the like conbody portion, a rigid arm one ed e thereof and bent said bo and another arm rojecting from the o posite edge of the b0 and rendered pliab e by having a series of slots in it extendin across t e point where it is to be bent, t e pliable arm being longer than the filler and both perforated for nails and the 3. As an article of manufacture, a fastening device for frame joints and the like consisting of a stiff metal plate comprising a fiat rectangular body portion, rigid arms projecting from two adjacent edges thereof and bent mto planes at angles to said body, and other arms roj'ecting from the opposite edges of the ho y in 1ts plane and rendered liable by having a series of slots throng them extending across lines on which they are to be bent.

4. As an article of manufacture, a fastening device'for frame joints and the like conprojecting from at an angle to portion. A few metal plate comprising a sisting of a flat metal plate having an up- I turned rigid projection along one edge and a downturned rigid projection along the adjacent edge, and arms projecting from its remaining edges and in its plane, said arms being rendered pliable by having in them a series of parallel slots extendlng across lines on which they are to be bent.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

ROBT. ROMAINE ROCKWELL.

Witnesses:

A. B. CocHRANE, F. G. VANDERPORT. 

